Dead Silence
by SummerWriter
Summary: [HIATUS UNTIL END OF JUNE] Harry, Ron and Hermione refuse to go back to Hogwarts for their seventh year to destroy the horcruxes. Hermione has an encounter with Snape, who claims to know about a seventh one with which she has to help him.
1. Prologue

**Summary: **Harry, Ron and Hermione refuse to go back to Hogwarts for their seventh year to take over the destruction of the horcruxes. In the meantime, Hermione has an encounter with Snape, who claims to know about a seventh one with which she has to help him. But can she trust him after what he did, even if he's telling the truth?

This story is not SS/HG centered.

**Warnings:** If you haven't read HBP, do not read this. Future chapters may contain not suitable scenes for people under 17. You've been warned.

**Rating:** M

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_**Prologue**_

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It was said in the magic world that Hermione Granger, an eighteen-year-old witch, was one of the brightest witches of her age. She was able to cast the most difficult spells, and she had become an inspiration for many people: disciplined, clever, ironic and brave. 

_Rubbish._

She was not happy.

She was not _that_ witch.

She hated being the perfect student whose happiness was based on getting the highest score. And the fact that she wasn't exactly ugly made people think her life was absolutely perfect.

_Lies._

If her life had been perfect, her friend Ginny wouldn't have been tortured until she had passed out. She wouldn't have had to watch how a group of Death Eaters raped and murdered a Muggle girl and her mother while she was immobilized and couldn't help, and she wouldn't have had to learn to cope when they released her with orders to tell other people about what happens to those who oppose the Dark Lord. They wanted to be feared, and for that they needed someone who reported to others what would happen to them if they crossed a Death Eater. She wondered how many people would have been made into reporters as she had.

If her life had been perfect, she wouldn't have to leave Hogwarts before finishing in order to face Voldemort and his followers; a cause everyone thought that was worth fighting for but for which only very few people actually _did_ something.

Oh, yes. She felt rage burning inside her. When people met her, or any other member of the Order, they congratulated them for what they were doing, even people from the Ministry! They were all so pleased that _someone_ was actually doing something, but they didn't want to be the ones risking their lives.

Fortunately, she had principles. Her morality told her not to hide in the shadows and let her bravery be found only in her hopes and frustrations.

That's why she had come to help the Order once more. It was a Muggle camping ground this time. Since Dumbledore's death, the Order had suffered many changes. They grew in number, which was a good thing, but that also meant that any operation they had to run would be harder to arrange, and for that reason they had divided the Order into groups. She helped Harry and Ron with the Horcruxes, as nobody else knew about them. Other people had to find and fight the few Death Eaters who were still at large, making sure that Muggles were not harmed. They hadn't been that successful so far. And other people had to protect public figures from the Ministry. Even though most of them were cowards who preferred to hide, the magical world needed to believe good was defeating evil, and the Death Eaters bloodthirsty organisation was under control. Voldemort, under control - what an irony...

The fact she had been called for help couldn't mean anything good. Not only would their friends being face defeat, but they wouldn't be able to escape. It was Voldemort's new tactic: setting a barrier that only could be crossed by those who wore the Dark Mark.

She had been in the camping ground only a few minutes. Muggles dangled in the air by their ankles could be seen everywhere; some were dead and others were barely alive. Above it all, the Dark Mark shone brightly in the sky. It was impossible not to notice it. Hermione's eyes caught lights in the forest that surrounded the zone - blinding lights that were so clearly made with wands.

She began to walk toward the lights and held her wand firmly in her hand; not even Merlin knew what was awaiting her.


	2. I: First Secret Shared

**Author's note: **Major thanks to my betas Sinderella and Cherbear22 for making this possible._**  
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_**Chapter one: First secret shared.**_

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She would never admit it in front of her friends, but she was scared. Right after going into the forest she had discovered Moody and Kingsley fighting four Death Eaters. She tried to help, but the opponents were far more prepared than she was, and Moody and Kingsley had to not only fight them, but also protect Hermione.

She escaped, as Kingsley told her to do. She was running as far from the forest as she could, fearing she would be discovered by her laboured breathing. She stopped and told herself to calm down.

"Little dirty Mudblood..." she heard a voice say. "How wonderful you came here to be killed _by me_."

"Don't be ridiculous, Malfoy. We all know you couldn't kill anyone," she tried to provoke him.

"Yes, you've always underestimated me. You didn't think I was up to something last year in Hogwarts, just like Potter suggested. Well, you were wrong, just like you are now. _Crucio!_"

Hermione felt the pain in her entire body, but did not scream. Malfoy wasn't used to casting Unforgivable curses, something she noticed immediately.

"You're better at History of Magic, Malfoy, and that's saying something... "

"_Sectusempra!_"

"_Protego!_" she stopped the curse. "_Cunfundus!_" Suddenly, Malfoy started cursing a rock that was six yards far from her. She took advantage of his confusion and yelled, "_Stupyfy!_"

The boy was knocked out and she threw his wand away, far from where he lay. She didn't kill him. She didn't have the nerve to do it. She was not a murderer, and she was there not to defeat Death Eaters but to save her friends. '_He won't be a problem for this battle. No one will find him here._' She kept moving, looking for her mates.

"Amycus! Bellatrix! Tonks and that stupid werewolf are over there with Greyback and Pettigrew. Come on!"

They were coming close to her and she hid in the bushy environment the forest contained. She did want to fight, but she knew she could do nothing against Greyback, Pettigrew and the owner of that voice on her own.

She waited a couple of minutes to make sure they weren't around before leaving her hiding place. She walked deeper inside the forest until she saw _a_ Death Eater. Just one. She thought this was her chance to do something.

"_Expelliarmus!_" they both shouted, making each other fly in a different direction. But bad luck decided to accompany Hermione that night, and she hit her head against a rock. She took a moment to recover and told herself to stand up quickly. However, once she did, the Death Eater was already on his feet looking intensively at her. Two wands were on his hand. '_Great!_'

"Well, well, well... lucky me, Potter's friend! Poor little girl, so little, so alone and so defenceless... So tell me, do you know where Potter is?" Hermione looked at him, a funny expression on her face. '_Yes, and I'm going to tell you of all people, _'she thought "Okay then. _Crucio_!"

This time she couldn't help it. She fell down. She could feel every inch of her body scream in agony, making her twist and jerk uncontrollably on the ground. She tried hard not to give him the pleasure of hearing her shout, hearing her scream, but finally couldn't.

"You know, what I like the most about being here with you is the fact I have nowhere else to be. I can stay here the whole night, making you suffer more than you can possibly imagine, and just because you won't tell me where your friend is..." he was waiting for a reply. She managed to kneel and gave him a pleased look.

"I'm glad to know you haven't been able to fi--"

"_Crucio!_" he shouted the curse, enjoying watching her twist. And suffer. And scream. This time Hermione couldn't help it. She had been told about the increasing amount of pain the C_ruciatus_ caused, but her imagination didn't come close to reality. She could feel her bones being squeezed by an invisible force, bringing her to tears. The pain ceased after what felt like an eternity to Hermione. "I wouldn't mind if you ended up sharing a hospital room with the Longbottoms."

She couldn't think. She couldn't hear him. She could do nothing but feel. A single word came out of her mouth, not on purpose...

"Please..."

He actually did look pleased.

"_Crucio!_" During the instant it took the curse to have effect on her, she thought she wouldn't hold up against the pain and would pass out. However, a few seconds later she felt the pain subside somewhat. She looked at the Death Eater and saw his body fall unconscious near hers. Hermione felt a sprout of happiness inside her; someone from the Order must be there. She glanced around, hoping for a smiling face and a helping hand, but all she got were black unfriendly eyes and a hooked nose.

Severus Snape was there.

'_Traitor... Coward..._'

"Do you know what motivates most Death Eaters to keep on with torturing people, Granger?" he asked grabbing her sharply by the arm and making her stand up. "One single word; please."

"Talking from personal experience?" She tried to get the ex-professor's hand off of her arm; the idea of Dumbledore's killer touching her was almost repulsive. "Don't touch me!"

"Hermione?! Hermione?!" she heard Tonks and Lupin call for her. They'd have probably heard her yelling. She turned around to face the direction the voices were coming from, but her body couldn't deal with the sudden movement and she passed out. She didn't care; they had found her and she was safe now.

* * *

She felt great. Really great. So comfortable. She hadn't slept that well in a while. She really didn't want to wake up yet, so she allowed herself to rest a little bit longer.

Eventually, she opened up her eyes and sat up. She could feel her whole body was painful. '_The forest!_' she remembered. The camping, the Dark Mark, the fight... The image of a Death Eater popped up in her mind. She felt frustrated, even now, for not being able to do anything. And Snape. She swore if she saw him again she was going to knock him out and send him to Azkaban on sight.

Hermione shivered. Why was the room so cold? What had happened to the heating? She took a jersey that was on a couch next to the bed and put it on. '_Much better._'

She looked back at the couch, and then took a look at the room. She didn't recognise it. That was unbelievable; the Order had changed its headquarters- again. She could understand they had to be careful, and now there were a lot of people in the Order they couldn't risk staying in the same place for so long. But _this_ was ridiculous; they had changed headquarters three times in two weeks.

She stood up ignoring the opposing pleas of her body. She opened the door. The smell and noises that she guessed were coming from the kitchen downstairs told her it was lunchtime, and she was starving. She made her way to the ground floor, looking for Tonks and Remus. They'd be able to explain to her what happened once she had passed out.

Going down the stairs she noticed not a single portrait was moving. That meant they were in a Muggle house. She also noticed the lack of voices the house had. Even though most people only paid short visits to the headquarters, just to inform the others of something, people were constantly entering and leaving. No one was entering or leaving this house.

She cautiously pushed open the kitchen door. No one was inside, but there was a platter of bread and fruit on the table. She didn't hesitate to take a roll and begin eating.

"You _finally_ woke up, I see."

Hermione turned around to face the man talking to her. She dropped the food. "Snape..."

The man didn't pay attention to her astonished expression and entered the kitchen. Hermione put her hands in her pockets, looking for her wand. "_Shit!_" That Death Eater had it last night.

"_I_ have your wand, Granger."

Hermione grabbed a knife she had seen in a glimpse. The ex-professor laughed at that. It was a cold and empty laugh.

"Exactly what a Muggle would do." She knew he was right in what he meant. It didn't matter how many knives she had and how sharp they were; there was nothing she could do to harm him without a wand. And he had two.

"I want my wand back."

"Not yet, Granger."

"Why?"

"You would use it to attack."

"Which is pretty much what you're about to do, isn't it?"

He looked at her quietly, not saying a single word.

She panicked. She was supposed to be brave, but staying there to face Snape was not bravery, it was stupidity. She bolted from the kitchen. She still felt weak, but she had to get out of that house and find someone from the Order.

Her first thought was to Apparate to Diagon Alley, but nothing, not even putting her best effort into it, allowed her to Disapparate inside the house, reminding her of the non-Apparation charms placed on Hogwarts. Running down the hall, she pulled on the front door to open it, but it wouldn't move. '_That damn wand!_'

"You will not leave for now. But I will not harm you either, you can have my word."

"Do I? That makes me feel much better," she replied sarcastically.

"Two days of rest were not enough to calm you, I see."

"Two days?!" She couldn't believe it. She had been with Snape for two days and she was alive? That couldn't mean anything good; whatever Snape's plan was, he seemed to have planned it carefully. "What do you want?"

"I want you to sit, eat and listen to what I have to say."

"Of course. And I want to have the moon packed in silk sheets, but I simply can't."

"As I see it, you do not have many other options," he said in a cold voice that had no effect on Hermione after six years of hearing it. But he was right, again. She was trapped inside that house, and sooner or later she would have to listen to Snape. There was nothing she could do about it no matter how much she wanted to. Snape made his way back towards the kitchen but turned and sat on a couch in the living room. Hermione followed his example.

"So," she said trying to sound disinterested, "what was that you wanted to talk about?"

Snape found it hard to believe Hermione would be paying any attention to him at all.

"Horcruxes," he said, simply.

That single word had a strong effect in Hermione. In the Order only Harry, Ron and she herself knew about the Horcruxes, and they knew Voldemort wouldn't tell his followers about them. But she was not going to tell Snape anything about them, and that included the fact that she even knew Horcruxes existed.

"About _what_?"

"Don't play innocent with me, Granger."

"Why did you kill Dumbledore?"

"What does Potter know about the Horcruxes?"

"Why did you kill him then, and not use the many other chances you had?" she pretended he hadn't heard him.

"_Which_ horcruxes does Potter know about?"

"Why did you run away afterwards and why didn't you dare to fight back?"

"You think I didn't dare to fight back?"

The girl stood up. "I think you're a coward and that's why you ran..." The Death Eater pushed her stomach sharply, taking her breath for a moment and making her fall back to the coach.

"Do not speak of what you do not know, Granger. Not everything is as simple as you see it."

"Oh, I really feel sorry for you. Such a long time alone, serving..."

One moment Hermione was looking at Snape. Next, she was facing the stairs. His hand had left a reddish mark on her face.

He leaned his hands in the arms of the couch she was sitting in, his faces inches from hers, and looked at her severely.

"You think you have seen it all, Granger? Just because you have been fighting for some months, like so many others did before you? Do you really think you know how far the Dark Lord's cruelty goes just because you have been in a fight risking your life or you have seen someone being tortured?" She noticed that his voice, even cold and distant, came from inside of him. "Allow me to enlighten you and let you see what cruelty is. It is years of servitude, having to murder your own family because they are a hindrance to him. It is torturing the same people you have previously called friends and to whom you have asked favours of; kidnapping, torturing and raping Muggles and youth who have _nothing_ to defend themselves with, who do not understand the motivation of such a cruel incident and do not even know about the one who ordered it. It is doing all of this while your morality is shouting inside of you, telling you to stop, that you would rather take your own life than do things like these. But do you know what is more barbaric than all of this, Miss Granger? The frustration of being unable to stop it, because you know deep inside that all these crimes would be nothing compared to what the Dark Lord would do if he triumphed over his enemies someday, without being sure your actions would have been worth it. And yes, Miss Granger. Doing it _alone_. Take all of these decisions on your own, in _silence_, because you cannot risk being discovered."

Hermione didn't break the visual contact he was holding to try and make her feel uncomfortable. She was trying to understand everything he had just said. Well, actually he didn't say anything, and those words would have been nonsense for anyone who didn't know what was he talking about. However, the girl was good at empathy and knew a little about his past, and that made her understand what he meant.

She had started thinking quite some time ago that there was more than the eye could see with Severus Snape. There was more than a bad-tempered professor, servant of Lord Voldemort. Dumbledore had trusted him, and she had trusted Dumbledore completely. She even tried to defend Professor Snape in front of her friends. That didn't mean she trusted him, maybe because he hadn't done anything to gain her trust, but his bitterness wasn't reason enough to think the headmaster had been wrong about him.

Obviously, Hermione's theory broke into pieces when he killed Dumbledore. Then she had a reason to not to trust him, to hate him, to consider him her enemy. Dumbledore... how dare he! The old wizard had defended him, keeping him from a long and unpleasant stay in Azkaban with his Death Eater mates. Snape owed him.

Even though he served Voldemort, debts were something people _never_ forget about in the wizarding world. He had saved Harry from Quirrel and kept the Death Eaters from even hurting him in their sixth year, even though he said Harry was for Voldemort. And he did it just because James Potter had saved his life when he was trying to pry in on the Marauders business. Snape always said he only did it to avoid being expelled, but he knew that if something had happened to him James wouldn't have had to take responsibility for it; the Slytherin had already been advised by the Headmaster to give up his suspicions about the Gryffindors.

He owed him. He should have saved him. And he had not only not saved him; he had killed him himself.

Hermione felt anger. She found it hard to believe that after everything that had happened the previous year Snape dared talk to her like that, on that I-am-a-victim tone. _He_ was not the victim.

The fearful look she had had until now became a defying one. When Snape noticed the girl was reacting to his words he removed his hands from the couch, widening the space between them, and started walking around the room.

He needed her to believe him. He didn't need her to trust him; she just had to believe what he had to say so she could help him. He was angry with himself for allowing his rage to overtake him. He had always been able to control his temper. It wasn't a bad tactic; on the contrary, he could prevent people from getting so close to him and finding a weak spot even he might not know about.

He thought he'd better speak plainly:

"I have never betrayed Dumbledore" he said _reading_ her mind.

"So murdering him doesn't count?"

"As I've told you, Granger," he said, trying not to lose control over his temper again, "not everything is as simple as it looks like. And before you answer back," he added when he saw she was about to, "I'll explain why I brought you here."

She relaxed her expression, letting him know she was listening.

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**Feedback? **


	3. II: Explanations

**Authors' note: **Spoiler, spoiler!

This chapter is related with chapters _Spinner's End_ (2) and _The Lightning-struck Tower_ (27) in HBP but doesn't remind what happened in them. If you do remember, you can just start reading. In case you don't, here is a short summary:

_Chapter 2: Bella insists in accompanying Cissy to visit Snape. The blonde wants him to promise he'll help his son with lord Voldemort's new plan, which we assume was to lead the Death Eaters inside the castle and kill Dumbledore. Bellatrix advises her not to tell him about it because she doesn't think Snape is trustworthy. She questions his loyalties and he responds all of her accusations. Narcissa and Snape finally make the Unbreakable Vow, swearing he'll watch over Draco and help him on the plan if Draco finds himself unable to do it. Bellatrix is their Bounder._

_Chapter 27: Harry and Dumbledore come back from their little excursion to the cave. They fly from Hogsmeade to the highest tower of Hogwarts, where the Dark Mark has been set. Some Death Eaters show up, and Dumbledore immobilizes Harry, who goes undetected because he's under his father's invisibility cloak. Draco is one of the Death Eaters. He explains to the Headmaster how he has leaded the others inside the castle. When he has to kill him, he finds he can't do it and Snape has to do it instead._

**Author's note II:** Thanks to Sinderella for beta reading this chapter.

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_**Chapter two: Explanations.**_

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"_I have never betrayed Dumbledore" he said _reading_ her mind._

"_So murdering him doesn't count?"_

"_As I told you lately, Granger" he said, trying not to lose control over his temper again, "not everything is as simple as it looks like. And before you answer back" he added when he saw she was about to "I'll explain why I brought you here."_

_She relaxed her expression, letting him know she was listening._

"Shall I assume that what your friends and you know about horcruxes is that the Dark Lord created them, once he left Hogwarts, during the many years he went unnoticed? He reached six before he attempted to kill the Potters, with whose death he planned to finish the seventh. One of them, the diary, was destroyed by your friend Potter, who obviously didn't know what he had done by destroying it - sheer dumb luck, I suppose. Another one, the ring, was destroyed by Dumbledore last year. And I suppose the night Draco lead the Death Eaters into the castle he took Harry to destroy the third one, the locket. I cannot find another reason why the Headmaster would have taken Potter out of the castle. Am I mistaken?"

He looked at the girl, who still had her eyes glued on him, but said nothing.

"I will take that as a yes. That would mean there are only three of them left; the snake and something that belonged to Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw."

He looked at her again, and she kept her mouth shut.

"Good, another yes. Let's allow Potter to keep that mistaken idea in his mind. After all, those are the horcruxes he is supposed to destroy."

"What do you mean by '_those_ are the horcruxes he is supposed to destroy'?" she spoke for the first time.

"I heard enough from the prophecy to know it is him, and no other, who has to defeat the Dark Lord."

"Yes," she insisted, "but why does he have a mistaken idea?"

"The Dark Lord is not an enemy you can allow yourself to underestimate, Granger. After his return, he discovered that his diary had been destroyed by Potter himself, and when Slughorn returned to Hogwarts it became obvious that Dumbledore would be aware of his soul splitting. Then, he decided to end his work. He went back to Godric's Hollow, where the last object he planned to make a horcrux had been forgotten after his fall. He retrieved it, and facing the prospect of his other horcruxes being destroyed, he made the seventh, about which no-one would ever find out once Dumbledore was out of the game."

"No-one except you?" she said slightly sarcastically

"You'll see, Granger. You may know the Dark Lord doesn't usually discuss his plans with his followers. He gives orders, not explanations. But you may not know that also he usually… talks between lines, if you will. This is how Dumbledore came to be sure about the horcuxes: 'I, who have gone further than anyone on the path to immortality'" he quoted him. Hermione had heard those words before; Harry had reported them exactly the same way after coming back from the Riddle House in their fourth year.

"Still, what does this have to do with that seventh horcrux you were talking about?"

"Now he's no longer here, no-one will ever find the secret of my immortality... not now that I reached the most powerful one" he quoted him again.

Hermione's mouth went dry. Obviously, if Voldemort had said that, that would mean he had actually created a seventh horcrux. She raised an eyebrow. Only _if_ he had said that.

"I did not expect you to believe my every word, Miss Granger, I am not that presumptuous" he read her mind again. "Therefore, I brought the memory along."

He pointed a cupboard on a corner of the room with his wand and the doors flew open, showing a vessel that contained a grey liquid. Snape came closer and touched it with his wand. One of the memories started to set off above the others.

"Come in."

"After you."

"Come in" he said again marking his word.

Hermione realized she had no choice. She bent over the Pensieve and let herself fall forwards into the memory.

She was in a building made of stone. It was impossible to distinguish whether it was an old and abandoned house or a cave. The poor light that was lighting the place came from small fires that had been strategically cast out in some corners. On one side of the room there was a short, stocky man who looked unconfident. His gaze was on a door but he looked lost.

"That, as you will probably know, is Pettigrew –the rat" Hermione turned to her right and there was Snape, who had entered the pensieve after her.

The door shut open and a group of people came in.

"What?! He did it?! _Him_?!" Bellatrix Lestrange's voice was echoing around the room while she turned to face the door she had just crossed. She looked at Snape, challenging him with her eyes and pointing one thin finger at him. "What is wrong with you, Snape? Draco had to do it, it was his assignment!"

"Well, yes- but the boy didn't had the nerve to do it," another of the occupants of the room said. Draco Malfoy was wearing his Slytherin uniform and looked from one Death Eater to another without saying a word.

"Shut up, Amycus!" the woman reproached. "The Dark Lord will be displeased because Draco didn't kill that old meddler himself and its all Snape's fault! We can't trust him even for that!"

"Do you _still_ think I can't be trusted?" Snape asked, looking severely at her.

The woman opened her mouth to reply, but before any sound was able to leave her someone else had entered the room.

"My Lord..." she said finally, bending lightly as a welcoming greeting. She stood apart in a corner, next to Pettigrew. Voldemort glanced at her and then turned to look the others. He walked around inside the room for a while, making the present Death Eaters become nervous by his silent presence. He suddenly stopped in front of the young Malfoy.

"I must confess that I really am pleased by tonight's events, Draco. I was getting impatient when you didn't seem able to achieve the assignment I gave you. But in the end, I see you could do it – with a little help from Fenrir, I must add. You finally found a way in. But I also must confess that I am disappointed. I thought you would consider it to be a great honour to be given this assignment. However, you don't seem to share my opinion. Tell me, Draco, why weren't you able to get on with _all_ of the tasks I gave you?"

"My Lord" Malfoy said with his head down, Hermione couldn't say whether it was because of respect or fear, "I beg you..."

"No, Draco" he said in a sharp voice. "No pleas. You failed, and that brings me to only one conclusion; you don't fear and respect me enough to comply with an order as simple as to take someone's life."

"My Lord," Bellatrix Lestrange interrupted, taking one step towards them, "the boy has already proven he's able to kill for you. I don't think it is him who y-"

"Bite your tongue, Bellatrix, before you say something you'll later regret. My judgement is not mistaken. However, you're right about one thing; Snape has also something to answer for. As do you. The others may leave and tell Narcissa to join us." For one moment, it seemed like Bellatrix was going to say something, but then she decided to look another way and wait in silence.

The majority of those who had entered the room minutes before were now exiting, leaving Bellatrix, Malfoy and Snape alone with his Master. He started walking around the room again, gazing at them inexpressively. After a while, even though it looked like hours to most in the room, Narcissa arrived. She looked with a confused expression at her sister, and then realized her son and his professor were also there.

"It looks like you've been re-arranging my plan behind my back" Voldemort spoke once the five of them were inside the room, door closed. "I thought I asked you Draco" – he looked back at the boy - "to get rid of that old meddler. And you, Severus" – he looked at him now - "I thought I made myself clear when I said I told you about the plan so it didn't surprise you, and not because you took part in it. I could have asked you at any moment to kill Dumbledore, but your position as a spy in the Order was too valuable for me." Snape was looking at his master in silence, without blinking but not defying him with his gaze either. "That old man had such faith in you that he had introduced you to the Order and would count on you for anything. It was impossible that he could plan something without you being aware of it. Now, however, I can't say I still have such an advantage. And all of this is because of what?" he said turning to face Narcissa now. "Because of a mother's fear. You must have felt proud, Narcisa, that I gave your son such a mission. But no, you went to cry on Severus' shoulder instead, asking him do participate in the Unbreakable Vow and make sure your son was okay, with no though to the fact that Severus may have had to reveal his true loyalties. Tell me, Narcissa, have you placed your priorities in front of your master's ones, to whom you swore loyalty?"

"No, master, of course I haven't..." she apologized, the normally cool, collected woman falling over her words. "I thought... I thought you only sought Dumbledore's death, I didn't think you also wanted Severus to stay as a spy... Please, forgiv-"

"I am not merciful, Narcissa. You will receive your punishment for defying me, as well as Severus, your son and your sister."

Bellatrix was startled. She looked astonished.

"But... My Lord, I wasn't even there! There's nothing I could've done to stop Snape from...!"

"Wrong, Bellatrix. There was something you could've done to avoid that Severus was the one who killed Dumbledore. Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't every Unbreakable Vow need a Bonder? You should have come to me and told me, Bellatrix. I would have expected that from you."

"But don't you fear" he went on, looking satisfied. "I'll not surpass in your punishment. Even though you ruined half of my plan, you did kill him. Oh, I've been waiting for this moment so long... Now I'll be able to finish Potter off without having to worry about Dumbledore and his habits of messing in other people's business. Now he's no longer here, no-one will ever discover the secret behind my immortality... not now that I have become the most powerful wizard on Earth. I'd expected to keep having the information you brought me about the Order, Severus" he added looking at him. Snape stepped closer, kneeling and lowering his head.

"I assure you, my Lord, I will never disappoint you again."

"_I_ assure _you_ that you will not" Snape looked up, trying to meet his Master's eyes. "Let's get started."

Then he pointed at the ex-professor with his wand. Hermione started, not because of the image she was seeing but because she felt someone's hand on her shoulder.

"I believe that's enough."

She felt how she was being pulled out the Pensive, and for one instant when everything went black she thought she'd heard someone screaming.

She came back to her senses when she felt herself collapsing against the floor of the room. Snape was on his feet in front of the Pensive, and he put it back inside the cupboard with a movement of his wand. Without looking at her, he turned around and went to sit back to the couch he had been occupying before.

She decided to follow his example. A lot of things were spinning around inside her head. Doubts about what she'd just seen. That memory must be from the very night Dumbledore was murdered. Had Malfoy joined the Death Eaters on one of their missions before that night? If not, what had Bellatrix Lestrange meant when she said the boy had already proved he was able to kill for Voldemort? And what Unbreakable Vow had Snape done with Narcisa Malfoy? Had Voldemort actually produced a seventh horcrux? If he had, he must have done it before Dumbledore's death. And the idea of Voldemort doing such a ting without Dumbledore noticing didn't exactly convince her.

But there was one thing that startled her above everything else; why was Snape showing her all this?

When she came back to the reality of the room, Hermione realized she must have expressed her last concern out loud. Snape was gazing at her. He sat up in his couch, leaned his elbows over his knees and put his hands together. He seemed to find something really interesting in them. He sighed deeply, visibly trying to relax.

"When I wanted to come to Dumbledore's side to defeat the Dark Lord during the first war, he obviously didn't believe only my word that I was up to good. I showed him some memories too." His sight was lost somewhere, as if he was living it all again. "I suggested doing the Unbreakable Vow, as a way for him to be sure I would not betray him, but he was aware the Dark Lord wouldn't care much about giving up the lives of a couple of his followers to get to him, and he didn't accept it. He told me he believed me though" he said, with a do-I-look-like-the-kind-of-man-who-needs-compassion look "and therefore he would count on me. He said he couldn't take the risk of allowing me to join the Order without knowing which where my real aims. I decided to show him they were the same as his."

"You may have noticed I'm a devotee of the Dark Arts" he went on now looking at her in a way that made her feel nervous. "Not because of the Dark Lord. Even before I joined him, I had been studying them on my own." She remembered Sirius telling her friends and her that Snape was known at school by his interest in Dark Arts, and also that when he started his first year he already knew more dark spells than most of the people in the seventh year. "And as an expert in the matter, I was aware of what a horcrux was. I found it hard to believe that a dark wizard like the Dark Lord wouldn't have been seduced by them and wanted to create _one_."

"Just one? Didn't you suspect he'd create more of them?" Hermione had given up in pretending she didn't now anything about horcruxes. First, she'd thought he wanted to find out what did she know about them, but instead he surprised her telling her the bit she already knew and wanting to go on. Then, she decided to pay attention.

"Even for a dark wizard, splitting one's soul is an unnatural act that turns you into something less human. No-one would have thought that even in school, Tom Riddle was not human enough to be willing to repeat the splitting six times."

"Between the other Death Eaters" he kept on his explanation "" I found someone else who knew about them; Regulus, who was also convinced that he knew where the horcrux was hidden. He never realized I found out he knew about it. And I was lucky, because he never was much of an Occlumens. When the Dark Lord discovered him trying to find out more, he killed him without even letting him know why. He sent two of his Death Eaters.

"Regulus Black! Sirius' brother?" He nodded. "Sirius told us he had joined the Death Eaters but some time after he had gotten himself killed by them." The image of the note Harry and Dumbledore had found with the fake horcrux plopped in her mind. She told herself to remember to tell Harry who R.A.B. was. "Why are you tell--?"

'Why are you telling me this?' was going to be her question, but she stopped when he found he had jumped to his feet and was staring at her, just as if he had first realized she was there.

"Then, he really did destroy it?"

"What...?" Hermione wasn't sure what was she going to ask this time. Had he destroyed it? "How am I supposed to know that?"

Snape must have been pleased with her response, because he shook his head and said "I thought you and your friends would have already figured it out." He sat back down.

"Now, back to where we were; I told Dumbledore this, and he decided to do some research on his own. I also told him most of what I knew about the Dark Arts. He must have found something that proved my theory right, because he told me to hide those memories somewhere in my head where nobody would ever be able to find them. Or, otherwise, I'd end up like Black. Regulus Black. After that, when the Dark Lord could not kill Potter Jr. and was almost destroyed, it wasn't difficult for the Ministry to catch his followers. Some of them said they had been acting under the influence of the Imperius curse. Some others decided to give names of other Death Eaters to avoid Azkaban and there were a couple who were too proud of what they had done that would rather face Azkaban than pretend they were mistaken."

"And you?"

"Dumbledore responded for me. Thanks to him I didn't have to go to Azkaban."

"A favour you paid him back."

Snape didn't listen to her. He wanted to talk about the seventh horcrux and her constant interruptions were irritating him. But for the very first time, he could not put her into detention and tell her to shut up like the other times when students told things he didn't care about. Now he had to be polite and treat her right if he wanted her to help him, and he knew it.

"Some years went by calmly before he came back" he decided to go on. "It was then when he realized Lucius had given his diary away and that it had finally been destroyed by Potter. He also found out Dumbledore must be aware of the horcruxes, assuming he figured it out when he saw the diary. The Dark Lord used to fear Dumbledore when he was a student at Hogwarts, and this fear has never really abandoned him. I daresay this is one of the reasons why he wanted Draco to kill him" he ignored Hermione's grimace. "A year after his came back; he decided to finish creating the seventh horcrux. He did hide it beyond the darkest magic that exists, and which can only be defeated by dark magic itself. This way, Potter would never be able to destroy it."

"And Dumbledore?"

"He planned the assault to the castle –and Dumbledore's death along with that– a long time before it happened. Dumbledore was not going to be a problem."

"Still, and even though its Dark Magic, why can't Harry destroy the seventh horcrux? He's good at Dark Arts."

"Don't fool yourself, Granger. Potter is good at defending _against_ the Dark Arts, but he has never been interested in Dark Arts themselves."

Hermione gave it a thought. After all, he was right. Harry had always proven himself to be really good at Defence Against the Dark Arts, but he had never been interested in learning them. He didn't even wonder how a horcrux was created...

"That doesn't necessarily mean he won't be able to destroy it" she challenged him. "He can lear-"

"Learn them?" he asked sceptically while he stood up form the chair. "What chance does a snotty-nosed teenager like him have against the experienced magic of the Dark Lord?"

"What do you want?" Hermione asked loosing her temper, frustration evident on her face. "You bring me here and lock me up, and I'm supposed to be your prisoner because I can't get out. Still, you don't attack me or try to injure me, but you make me sit down and listen to the story of your life. You tell me there's a seventh horcrux, apparently interested in destroying it, but at the same time you tell me we won't be able to." She also had jumped on her feet. "What. Do. You. Want? If you hadn't told me anything I didn't know before, I'd think you just wanted to get some information of me. But you told me lots of things I didn't know, so if you're going to interrogate me and then torture or kill me-" she emphasized those last words "-you can go straight to that! I assure you there's nothing you and your so-called friends can do will surprise me."

Snape massaged his throbbing temples. That girl was impossible, and he had very little patience.

And he was running out of it.

A sudden impulse that had probably been originated by the many years he'd spent in Voldemort's side made him rush at her angrily and drag her to the closest wall. Her body collapsed against it, and Snape put his hands on her clavicles.

It all happened so suddenly that the girl didn't even have time to think. In a moment, she found herself between Snape and the wall, and his face didn't show he was so pleased. He was looking at her with his eyes half-closed and breathing sharply.

"What I want" he spoke in a calm tone "is for you to shut up for once in your life and let _me_ talk. Did Potter tell you what happened on the tower once I got there? What did Dumbledore do?"

Hermione opened her mouth twice, but no sound came out. She shut her eyes, took a deep breath and opened them again.

"He begged for his life" she said, hoping not to end up just like him

"For his life? Do you think Albus Dumbledore was the kind of wizard who would beg for his own life?"

"Enlighten me" she replied bravely, her voice still roar because of the hand pressing on her throat.

Snape lessen the pressure on her clavicles but kept holding her where she was.

"Not even I can understand what enchantments may have used the Dark Lord to protect his horcrux, and I can assure so few know more Dark Arts than me. For some reason that was never really trusted to me, Dumbledore thought _I_ was the suitable person to take care of _that_. But things you are too immature to comprehend happened, and I found myself in a position which didn't allow me to keep on trying to destroy the horcrux. If Potter tries to do it instead of me he will die trying and the Dark Lord will have won. Come on, Granger, you have heard the prophecy" he added when he saw her disagreement expression. "To the Magic World's misfortune, it is Potter and no-one else who has to end him. And so it looks like it is me who has to destroy that horcrux."

"And what does this have to do with _me_?"

"I can't do it alone."

Hermione looked very surprised, her eyes wide open. He let her go and took a few steps away from her.

"Dumbledore had helped me. I cannot be absent long enough from the Dark Lord's side as to destroy the horcrux in time without him noticing. Granger, do you understand what would happen if Potter went to face the Dark Lord while the seventh horcrux still exists?"

He'd die. He wouldn't be able to defeat Voldemort and would die trying. That seemed logical. Still...

"You do not believe me because I killed Dumbledore, isn't that right, Miss Granger?" Hermione stared at him, and he didn't need to hear anything to get his answer.

Snape pointed his wand to the cupboard and the Pensive came out once again. Without looking at Hermione, he walked towards it and chose another memory. He turned to look at her.

― Enter.

This time, Hermione didn't need to be told twice.

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**Please, turn off the tap while you're washing your teeth --we're running low of potable water here on Earth-- and leave a review. That won't harm the planet and will cheer someone up.**


	4. III: Desperate Times

**Author's note: **In this chapter some speeches from _The lightning-struck tower_ have been copied. They belong to J. K. R.

And also, major thanks to The Rainmaster for beta reading this chapter!

* * *

_**Chapter three: Desperate times call for desperate measures.**_

* * *

"_You do not believe me because I killed Dumbledore, don't you?" Hermione stared at him, and he didn't need to hear anything to get his answer._

_Snape pointed his wand to the cupboard and the Pensieve came out once again. Without looking at Hermione, he walked towards it and chose another memory. He turned to look at her._

― _Enter._

_This time, Hermione didn't need to be told twice._

She was now on the familiar Headmaster's office. Snape was reclining next to a window. His sight was lost somewhere in the horizon. She gave a look at the room, and she felt her heart miss a beat when she saw a smiling Albus Dumbledore writing something in a parchment. She knew it sounded stupid, but during the last few months she'd missed that wizard so much, and seeing him there, in that memory, as alive as always, startled her.

She'd felt so frustrated when she found herself unable to remember his face. When she felt lost and she didn't know what to do to help her friends, she closed her eyes and tried to imagine the wizard smiling at them and encouraging them to go on. But lately, she found that even though she closed her eyes and did her best to remember his face, she could only see a blur.

Now, however, he was in front of her. Even though it was just a memory. Even though she had to get out of the Pensieve and come back to the reality in a few minutes.

She stood closer, trying to study his facial features to remember them. He suddenly rose his head – he had finished writing that parchment – and he looked though her.

"Severus, forgive me for keeping you waiting." The girl looked in the same direction and saw the Snape from the memory looking back at the old wizard, still reclined in the window. Next to him, Hermione saw the Snape with whom she had been 'dealing' for a while. She hadn't noticed he'd entered the Pensieve right after her. "The bureaucracy for the beginning of the course is demanding and exhausting... After all this years, I'm sure the Ministry could have thought of something to improve it. Oh, forgive me, I'm losing my manners; take a sit, please."

"I'm comfortable here where I am."

"As you wish" he smirked. "Tell me, what's your visit due to, Severus? I thought you were spending the rest of the summer at your father's house with Peter Pettigrew."

"That is correct. My visit is just that –a visit"

For an instance, Hermione had the feeling that the professor was nervous. She pushed that thought away as quickly as it came. Snape feeling nervous?

However, the same thought seemed to have plopped in the Headmaster's mind.

"Did anything go wrong, Severus?"

"It's about the mission I told you about, Albus" he said not looking at him, "the one that had been given to Draco Malfoy." He met his eyed then and the old wizard nodded. "Narcissa came to me looking for help. She knows how unlikely to succeed is Draco, and that the mission was given to him as a punishment for his father's failure at the Ministry. Bellatrix Lestrange came along with her."

Once spoken that last sentence, Snape stood away from the window and crossed the room to the other side with his arms folded. He seemed to be submerged in thoughts. Dumbledore was gazing at him, curious but not surprised. The Professor stopped, breathed deeply and spoke again, still not looking at him.

"He asked me to do the Unbreakable Vow."

If that came as a surprise to Dumbledore, he didn't show it.

"Promising that you will do anything in your hand to keep him from failing" he asserted, even though it was more of a question. Snape nodded.

"Albus,..."

"No, Severus. You don't need to explain yourself" he cut him off, somehow understandings his worry. "I asked you to do anything to make sure that horcrux will be destroyed. It's the most important thing, and _nothing_ matters more than this. Harry must not know about it, but when he is to face Voldemort that horcrux must no longer exist. I am surprised that I have survived so many years of war without even getting injured. First it was Grindelwald and now it's Voldemort. I'd be a fool if I expected to stay this way until the end." Snape looked at him, not willing to hear what he knew was about to come. "This year I'm going to tell Harry about the horcruxes Voldemort created for the first war. With this, it will be my intention that he will be able to destroy them without my help. Just in case I couldn't be there for him" he quickly added when he notice the Professor was about to speak. "I can't find a more suitable person to take care of the seventh one, and I know I can trust you. May I have your word, Severus, that you'll do _anything_ to destroy the horcrux?"

Snape didn't answer. His sight was again lost somewhere on the other side of the window glass.

He sigh once more.

"Severus?" he distracted him of his thoughts –whatever they were. "Can I have your word?"

"I'm afraid you can, Albus. I'm afraid you can."

Dumbledore smiled sadly and leaned back against his chair.

"The memory you will see now," said the actual Snape, "belongs to the very same night the castle was attacked."

He pointed his wand nowhere in particular. Waving it in the air, he made the memory change into a blur to become clear. Hermione found herself in the very same room, with objects positioned in different places and a sunset making the sky look orange outside the window.

A different Snape wearing his teaching robes was in the Headmaster's office now. He was sitting, but Hermione could distinguish thathe looked a bit impatient.

A noise came from the other side of the door; the stairs outside were climbing up to the top.

She stood from the chair and waited for the door to open. There, Albus Dumbledore was standing, wearing his travel robe and giving an interrogating gaze at the Professor.

"Is anything wrong, Severus?"

"I suspect Draco Malfoy is so close to reaching his purposes, Albus" he said, _slightly_ worried.

"Did he talk to you about it?" he asked, his eyes wide open. He entered the room and closed the door after him.

"No, he still won't tell me anything. It's an impression rather than something I know for sure. But I do know the Malfoys well enough to know whether they are close to succeeding in something they want to. To who is that note addressed?" He asked when the old wizard started writing.

"To Mr. Potter. I have some business to manage with him."

"You won't...?"

"That, Severus, is between Mr. Potter and me."

"Of course" said the Professor, sitting in the chair he occupied before.

Dumbledore finished the note, and waving his wand he made it disappear. After that, he followed his companion'sexample and sit down.

They stood in silence for a while, until the Headmaster drove his gaze to the Professor. He was looking back at him, but he seemed to be paying more attention to his thoughts.

"What is it that concerns you, Severus?"

He looked at him, anxious.

"To have given my word about something and not being able to keep it."

"Of course you will. Besides, the Unbreakable Vow doesn't leave you any other option" he smiled.

Snape looked at him in a bitter expression.

"It's not just that, Albus. That horcrux... I don't understand what the Dark Lord can have done to hide it this well, even using Dark Arts. I've been looking into the topic for months now, and I haven't found anything useful. Nothing. And this was with your help. Tell me, what am I supposed to do when I'll be on my own?"

"Severus, I know it's not an easy job the one we're talking about, but I'm sure you'll cope with it. So many times I have surprised myself when after hitting a dead end for months, I realized I was missing something really silly" he explained smilingly. "There was once, now I remember, when I wasn't sure whether I had--"

"Albus!"

"Severus."

"Succinctly put, I don't share your confidence in me being capable to deal with this."

Right after he had said it, a noise startled both men. The stairs were climbing up again. Snape looked questioningly at the Headmaster, waiting for him to say something.

"It has to be Harry. Severus, you should go before..."

"Of course."

"We'll finish this conversation later."

Snape nodded, stood up and walked towards the fire. He took a pinch of the powder in a vase and threw it to the flames while saying "Dungeons."

Hermione felt she was being pushed outside the Pensieve to land, once more, on the cold floor.

Snape, who had came out with more elegancy, waved his wand and she vessel shut itself inside the cupboard.

He turned around to face her and extended one arm towards her. Hermione was both surprised and scepticalthat he was helping her up, but after mistrustfully examinee his arm and hand saw that he was giving her her wand back. She met his eyes, expecting an explanation, but he simply gazed her back without a word. Why was he giving her the wand now?

"You do not expect me to stay this way until you make up your mind, don't you, Granger? Knowing you as I do that may took hours, and I don't want backache to be added to my 'problems to solve' list."

Hermione took her wand and stood up. She kept it in her hand, but she didn't point it at him.

She wasn't sure she wanted to do that.

He stood in front of her, simply watching her. His wand was also in his hand, but he wasn't pointing at her either.

His penetrating gaze was able to intimidate her.

Even though Harry had told her what happened _that_ night, there were a million of omitted details, and she was sure that, if she knew them, things would make more sense.

According to Harry, Snape didn't kill Dumbledore right at the moment he got to top of the tower, but he didn't wait too long either. Had he been doubting? Or had he simply been enjoying to see the Headmaster look older and more defenceless than ever, with his destiny at his hands?

This time she didn't wait for Snape to take the initiative and she headed towards the couch, not giving a damn at what he would do or say.

If she had, she'd have been able to notice a smirk in his face.

But too many things were now on her head. All the pieces of information that she got that evening were now a nebula that she needed to clarify before she could get any conclusions.

Dumbledore had known it all along. Memories could not be modified or even invented, and if someone did manage to do it there were obvious signs of it –signs like the fog in Slughorn's memory. She was sure of that.

She heard Snape climbing up the stairs and locking himself in a room on the top floor.

She sighed and tried to calm down. She had to find a meaning for all she'd been shown... she needed to find it.

It seemed that Narcissa Malfoy had asked Snape to do the Unbreakable Vow, agreeing that he'd do anything in his hands (and wand) to help Draco Malfoy succeed in his mission.

And that mission could only be one; to find a way to lead the Death Eaters inside Hogwarts and kill the Headmaster.

And he hadn't wanted to do it. Or had he? When he had told Dumbledore about it, he definitely had looked displeased and worried. But on the other hand, he was a brilliant actor. He had fooled Voldemort. Or had it been Dumbledore? In any case, he'd fooled one of them, and they were both experienced legimens.

Before she'd seen that last memory, Hermione was confident with the idea of Snape being loyal to Voldemort. But had he been, he needn't have go see the Headmaster and warn him how close young Malfoy was from reaching his purpose. If he'd been on Voldemort's side, why would he offer Dumbledore a chance to be ready for what was to come and avoid that destiny? And why hadn't Dumbledore done something if he new what was to come? '_He did something_' the little voice said from the bottom of his head. '_He'd been setting everything so we'd have a chance to defeat Voldemort even without him._'

But what was keeping her from attacking him was none of those doubts.

Snape knew about a seventh horcrux. And so did Dumbledore. And he'd wanted Snape of all people to be the one who destroyed it.

That couldn't possibly be one of Voldemort's dirty games, like the one that took them to the Department of Mysteries. Voldemort would _never_ tell any of their followers about his horcrux, no matter what. '_He works alone and for himself. He has no allies, but servants_' the voice in her head came again. '_And he wouldn't risk that one of them became even half the powerful (and invincible) wizard he is._'

Hence, it had to be true that horcrux did exist, and there was no doubt Dumbledore'd wanted Snape to destroy it for a good reason.

And that task was too much for one soul alone, even though it was a lonely one. Harry had his friends, Ron and her, to rely on, and there was also the Order, who'd help even if they weren't completely aware of the situation. Snape, however, had no-one. No, he definitely couldn't do it alone. But he couldn't risk telling anyone who wasn't aware –in part, at least– of the existence of those horcruxes.

She started to understand his ex-Professor's dilemma. Even though he'd wanted to, he couldn't have told anyone else about it. Anyone but her.

'_Traitors do exist, and some of them are as unexpected as Pettigrew._'

But by telling her he was taking no risk. She was everything Voldemort despised, and she'd never join him, not ever under the most threatening circumstance. And she wouldn't do anything that could benefit him either.

So, that horcrux had to be destroyed. Still, she didn't feel she could trust him.

Snape came downstairs and he sat in the other side of the room. She glanced at him, expecting to find some evidence that he was lying.

She found none.

She needed to know... she needed details. She jumped to her feet and walked towards him.

"Show me the memory from the tower" she said. She wasn't asking for it.

Snape, who decided to remain seated, waved his wand and the Pensieve came outside the cupboard for the third – and last – time.

"Aren't you coming inside too?" she wondered when he didn't came to the Pensieve.

"I had enough with seeing that memory once" he replied without meeting her eyes.

Hermione shrugged and leaned inside the Pensieve.

When the image became clear, she saw she was in the tower above which the Dark Mark had been set. Snape was standing in the door, holding firmly his wand in his hand. His dark eyes swept the scene.

Draco Malfoy, Fenrir Greyback, those two Death Eaters called Amycus and Alecto and Albus Dumbledore were there. '_And Harry_' Hermione thought. '_Somewhere, under the cloak_.'

"We've got a problem, Snape" said Amycus. "The boy doesn't seem able –"

"Severus..." Dumbledore cut in a sadly pleading tone. Hermione felt her heart sank. Dumbledore was standing there, defenceless... and she knew what would happen. And she couldn't do anything to avoid it.

Snape stepped closer to him, pushing Draco Malfoy and making the other Death Eaters become suddenly wordless.

Hermione stepped closer too, positioning herself in a good angle to see both Snape's and Dumbledore's faces. For an instant, she thought she recognized something similar to fear, horror in Snape's face...

"Severus... please..."

Snape's eyes shut closed for another instant, but before Hermione could realise what was happening he had already pointed his wand to the Headmaster.

She didn't dare look.

"_Avada Kedavra!_"

A green shadow penetrated her still closed eyelids, and she sobbed.

"Out of here, quickly" she heard Snape say. She opened up her eyes, and she saw all the Death Eaters moving hastily downstairs.

There was something strange; Snape had already murdered Dumbledore, but the memory was still going on. Could there be more? And what could she lose in finding it out?

She followed them downstairs. Everything was full of dust, but she managed to distinguish the tall figures of a dark-haired man and a blonde boy running towards a different direction from the other ones while one of them shouted "_it's over, time to go!_". They ran trough the battle without being hit by any curse. They ran through all of the members of the Order side and no-one stopped them...

They reached the gates, and with a wave of Snape's wand those opened. Malfoy and he ran through them, followed by Hermione and some Death Eaters. They were heading now to the main gates, beyond which they'd be able to Apparate out from there.

Hermione stopped herself.

That was it... Snape and Malfoy running away. There was nothing else in that memory? A shout from his friend Harry made her react.

"_Stupefy!_"

The red light past inches from Snape's head. "_Run, Draco!_" he shouted and turned around to face Harry. The boy tried to cast a Cruciatus on him, but the Professor stopped it skilfully.

"No Unforgivable Curses from you, Potter!" she heard him yell. "You haven't got the nerve or the ability –"

Harry tried to throw another curse to him, but Snape avoided that one too.

"Fight back! Fight back, you cowardly –"

"Coward, did you call me, Potter? Your father would never attack me unless it was four on one, what would you call him, I wonder?"

"_Stupe–_"

"Blocked again and again until you learn to keep you mouth shut and your mind closed, Potter!" He looked at the Death Eaters who had followed them. "Now _come_! It's time to be gone, before the Ministry turns up –"

Before he finished the sentence, Harry tried to throw another hex at him. He couldn't, however; he was hit by a silent Cruciatus and felt to the floor twisting in pain.

"No!" roared Snape and Harry ceased moving. "Have you forgotten our orders? Potter belongs to the Dark Lord – we are to leave him! Go! _Go_!"

The Death Eater who had thrown the curse and the one who had been following them followed him towards the gate.

Hermione was gazing at the scene. Until that very moment, she'd thought Snape had just told the other Death Eaters not to harm Harry because of the orders they'd been given. Now, however, she had seen that he'd not only done that but also stopped a Cruciatus Curse on him. Those were the kind of details she'd been looking for... He could have made the boy suffer a little and then told his allies not to harm him any further. No harm would have been done to Harry for that – anything permanent. But no, he stopped the curse; he didn't let them cast any unforgivable on him, no matter how much Harry tried to cast one on Snape.

Another shout from Harry made her come back to her senses. Snape stepped closer to him, and looking at with rage he said;

"No, Potter! You dare use my own spells against me? It was I who invented them – I, the Half-Blood Prince! And you'd turn my own inventions on me, like your filthy father, would you? I don't think so... _no_!"

"Kill me then" panted Harry. "Kill me like you killed him, you coward –"

If that wasn't just a memory, and if Hermione didn't know Harry'd survive that night, she'd have thought Snape would have killed him. Right there. He was enraged enough to do so, and his face was showing how much he disliked that boy.

"DON'T CALL ME COWARD!" he shouted instead.

Then, Buckbeak came flying, trying to harm Snape with his claws. Harry felt back to the ground, and Hermione hurried herself to follow Snape while he continued his ran away. He was going... he was going to be gone... and finally he crossed the gates and Disapparate.

The girl felt again how she was being pulled out of the Pensieve. She couldn't help her strong breath, which let the Death Eather sitting in the room know how much she'd seen.

"Shall I assume you've followed my memory all the way out of the castle?"

Hermione didn't deny it. She walked to place herself in the chair in front of him. She didn't break eye contact, not even once.

"I'm listening" she said simply.

He was pleased to hear that, and started to talk.

He told her that the object that was now the seventh horcrux had belonged to Gryffindor, and that nobody had known about it until (apparently) now because Slytherin had taken it away in one of their disputes. Hints pointed that the object was a key which would probably open a room in Gryffindor's rooms in Hogwarts.

He kept talking, and he explained to her that his main problem was not knowing how Potter was managing with the other horcruxes. He needed to know which had already been destroyed, in any of them had, and what were the hints he had for the other ones. For what he explained, he was going against the clock.

When he finished his speech he didn't take his eyes off of her. Silently, he was awaiting for her reaction to it all.

She thought about what she'd just been told for a few minutes. All those explanations he'd given her along the evening were serving one single purpose; let her know how vitally important it was for Snape to know 'how was work going on the other side'. Yes, he needed to know it. And Harry couldn't destroy the other horcruxes before he destroyed that one, but still...

"I'm not going to spy on my friends" she stated.

Snape drove one hand to his temples and rubbing them hardly. "It's not about spying on them" he assured her.

"No, it's about telling you, a person I don't know to whom he's loyal to, how are my friends and I managing with a task about which not even the Order itself is aware of. No, it's not about spying, but it's too close to it, don't you think?"

"Granger, I thought you were more astute. We're in war. It doesn't matter whether you think doing something is correct or not, it's about what needs to be done."

"Victory at any cost, isn't it, sir?"

She kept visual contact, without blinking, not wanting to show him any sign of weakness.

"The house is no longer locked" he stood up. "You may go at any time."

Said that, he stepped away purposefully, closing the kitchen door behind him.

Hermione's reaction took a few seconds to come. Her common sense was telling her she had to help Snape to defeat Voldemort, but her moral was questioning whether victory should be won at _any_ cost. She'd never do anything that could harm any of her friends, but you never know how things can mess up and what situations you may find yourself in if you're not prudent. And it's always better not to try luck.

She stood up and walked towards the entrance door. She opened it and left. It was then when she noticed where had she been all that time; Godric's Hollow. She sighed and took a few steps. The sunset made the landscape not to be completely visible, but somewhere down a hill the ruins of a house that once stood there could be differentiated.

It was time to go back. She took a glance to the house she'd just left, and something told her to come up with an excuse about where she had been. An excuse that could convince Harry and Ron.

Why, was she going to lie to her friends?

She looked away from the house, closed her eyes and Disapparated.

* * *

Once the girl was gone, Snape stood away from the window through which he'd been watching her. 

She had looked back, and he knew what that meant; she had doubts. She didn't know what was best to do.

He sigh, alleviated. After all, things had gone better that he had expected. Not even he understood why he had asked precisely Granger for help. Well, actually he did. _'Desperate times call for desperate measures'_ he thought.

* * *

**Time to write this chapter and translate it: 14 days. **

**Estimated time to write a review: less than _one_ minute (0.00069 days).**

**Valid excuses for not doing so: none.**

**And remember; recycling is _always_ a good choice. Papers can be re-used, and we do need forests!**


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